A Silent Scream
by XscarlettXsuccubiX
Summary: Sasuke is awoken in the middle of the night to find a sobbing Sakura talking about blood... What could have happened? Suicide-attempt, Self-abuse, depression. SasuNaru Fin!
1. On The Hunt

Authors Note: Please, Please, PLEASE REVIEW. I'm on my knees, begging you... okay, not really. I'm actually sitting at my computer typing at 2 freaking o'clock in the morning, so I'm tired but can't fall asleep because some weird force in the galaxy has determined that I shall not sleep until 3 A.M. My life is a spiraling vortex of pain and agony... God, that sounded so emo. I need sleep. *Begins to listen to the emo song due to lack of anything better to do*

Acknowledgments: Here's a special shout-out to all the people who reviewed for 'Make A Wish' I enjoyed hearing from all of you. Hope you enjoy this story as well!

Disclaimer: NUUUUUUUUUUU... I DONT OWN NARUTO... WAHHHHHHHHHHH... *runs into room, locks door, and dives under covers with Gaara plushie* Wait... I'm already in my room... GAH, the walls are PINK... I'm... I'm... I'm in my sisters room... NO! *escapes from the pinkness with Gaara plushie while screaming in agony*

"Speaking"

_Thinking_

(Author Rants XD)

* * *

**A Silent Scream**

**By XscarletXsuccubiX**

BAM. BAM. BAM.

_Dammit, who the fuck is that? _An arm snakes out from beneath the covers to turn the alarm clock so the beds occupant could see what time it is. The movement is followed by a loud snarl. _2 FUCKING A.M. This better be fucking important or someone's gonna DIE._ (1)

BAM. BAM. BAM.

"I'M COMING DAMMIT!" The raven-haired teenage grabbed the first pair of pants and shirt his hand came into contact with and shoved them on. _If it's Kakashi-sensei here to wake me for early morning training I swear I'm gonna... _(2) The boy pulled open the door to find a very harassed and scared looking pink-haired girl. "Sakura. It's 2 A.M. What the fuck do you want?" (3)

Sakura sniffled, not bothering to wipe the tears from her eyes. "Oh Sasuke, it's horrible... there was blood..." At the mention of blood she seemed unable to go on and collapsed into a quivering, sobbing heap outside the doorway.

Sasuke stared at her for a moment, instantly awake. _Blood? _Sasuke kneeled down, grabbed Sakura by the shoulders and roughly shook her. "Sakura! Whose blood? What are you talking about?"

Sakura hiccupped a couple times and was able to sob out a single word. "N-N-Naruto..." Sasuke frowned. "What about Naruto?" His eyes widened. "Blood... Narutos blood?" Sakura nodded. "Where?" Sakura looked at Sasuke and choked out an answer. "His r-room..." Sasuke instantly let go, moved around Sakura and began the long run towards Narutos home. _Please let him be okay._(4)

(6 minutes later XD)

Sasuke skid to a halt outside Narutos front door, he wasn't even breathing hard even though he had technically run a mile.(5) Sasuke frowned. _Narutos door is open. Did Sakura leave it open? _As Sasuke stepped forward he noticed a drop of blood outside the front door. It was fairly fresh. Sasuke quickly stepped inside. The blood drops were widely spaced but they painted a fairly straight line to Narutos bedroom.

Sasuke quickly rushed to the bedroom, pausing only briefly in order to check for any enemies. _No one..._ Sasuke noticed that the bedroom door, like the front door, had been left open. As Sasuke stepped through the doorway, a hundred images of what might be in the room assaulted his mind. It was an interesting collection of mutilated bodies, blood-splattered walls and various other gore-filled images. Despite this, Sasuke wasn't prepared for the sight that met his eyes.

There was... nothing. No bodies. No pools of blood. It looked completely normal if a bit messy. Sasuke blinked in surprise. _Are Sakura and Naruto playing some kind of sick joke? No. Naruto might, but not Sakura, she's too simple. _Suddenly, Sasuke remembered the blood trail, his eyes tracked the drops to an old desk in the far corner of the room.

As Sasuke moved toward it he frowned. The small desk was devoid of anything you would normally find on a desk. No paper. No lamp. Not even the instant ramen cups that seemed to litter the rest of the house. It was empty except for a single kunai. As Sasuke picked up the kunai, he noticed two things. One, the kunai hadn't been sharpened in a while, the tip of it was almost dull. Two, the tip was coated in old, dry blood and newer, fresher blood.

Sasuke frowned. _There's not that much blood, maybe enough for a flesh wound but that's it. Why would Sakura freak over this?_ As Sasuke turned to survey the room, his foot thumped against something on the floor. When he looked down, he noticed a small black book that looked like someone had just dropped it there. As Sasuke picked it up he noticed it was thick enough to hold maybe two hundred pages. He flipped the cover open.

Inside he found what looked to be diary entries dating back to the ninja academy. What made it interesting however was the fact that whoever wrote in it, probably Naruto from the whinny sound of the entries, seemed to have used an extremely sharp pen with an odd red ink that looked smudged and flakey. Sasukes eyes quickly glanced at the kunai and then back to the book as an idea formed in the back of his mind.

His idea was that maybe Naruto didn't use a pen, maybe he used that kunai. Also, that's probably not red ink, it looks more like... Sasuke stared at the kunai. _Blood... Naruto wrote in... blood... _Sasuke stared for a couple of minutes, a frown forming on his face. He quickly flipped through the rest of the book, the frown deepening as the fluidity and smoothness of the writing increased. Finally, after flipping until he was only a few pages from the ending, Sasuke found that latest entree.

The latest entree was this:

_Ha! Guess what? I'm having a bridge named after me! Isn't that cool? I'm finally getting the recognition I deserve. I just wish it hadn't come at such a high price. We were supposed to guard an old bridge builder. A simple mission, right? Wrong. Things got complicated. Turns out some crazy famous swordsman named Zabuza was after the bridge builder. We had to keep protecting him from Zabuza until the psycho finally died trying to get his revenge on his employers. But Zabuza wasn't the only enemy. There was another boy, a little older than me, named Haku, who was working with Zabuza. Haku was totally devoted to Zabuza and even got himself killed trying to save Zabuza. But before I knew Haku was supposed to be my enemy, he was my friend..._

Sasuke stared hard at this last sentence. _Friends? What is he talking about? When did he meet Haku?_ Sasuke resolved to ask Naruto about that the next time he saw him. He continued reading.

_... and I actually liked him. He was nice and I felt like I could really connect with him, we were just so alike. We both had been shunned for our entire lives until we met that one person that made us feel useful. That one person that gave us a reason for living. Haku had Zabuza and now I have..._

The name of the person that was so special to Naruto was smudged and covered with so much extra blood it was impossible to read. _Hn... probably Iruka or Sakura._

_But none of that matters. A person who was good at heart was killed to protect someone who reveled in the kill. Zabuza even tried to pretend it didn't matter, he tried to laugh it off but he really did care. I was almost put in the same situation as Zabuza though. Sasuke. He protected me. Haku threw a bunch of needles at me and I probably would have died, but Sasuke saved me. He let himself be impaled in order to save my life. He didn't even realize he was doing it until it was all over. There was so much blood. I thought Sasuke was dead. He survived, thank god. But if he had died it would have been my fault. I am a disgrace to our team. I almost got everyone killed. I should leave the team before someone really DOES die because of me. I wish I had someone else to talk to about this. Dammit._

The entree ended there.

Sasuke blinked. _Hn... that's interesting, I always thought Naruto brushed off near failures easily. Guess not. And that last part... he actually considered giving up? Wow. I know I mess with him, but I never thought he got so mad at himself. Ah well, these are Narutos private thoughts, so... _As Sasuke let the last few pages flip closed he spotted some red on the last page. He decided to take just a peek to see if it was a more recent entree before putting it on the desk. His eyes widened at what he saw.

It was a small note that said this:

_Dear everyone,_

_My team and my family. All of those I have come to know and love, please forgive me. _

_Iruka-sensei, you were the first person who ever really treated me like a person or part of a family. Thank you. You were the father I never had._

_Kakashi-sensei, thanks for all the training, I'm sorry I yelled at you so often. Please do me a favor, tell Sakura and Sasuke about 'my other part'. They deserve to know what they have been fighting alongside._

_Sakura-chan, sorry for always getting on your nerves. You're a nice girl who is going to be a great shinobi someday. I just know it._

_Sasuke-kun, thank you. For being the brother I wish I had. And I'm sorry, for all the trouble I caused you and all the things I wish I told you. _

_I'm so sorry. _

_All of you, please forgive me and tell the others that I miss them. By the time you find this, it will be too late. I wrote this note and left at around 1 a.m, so it will be at least six or seven hours before this note is discovered. By then, it will be too late, I assure you. But please don't be mad at me. After all, this is for the best. Ask any of the village elders. Well, Goodbye._

_Don't forget me,_

_Uzumaki Naruto_

Sasuke stared at the note. He couldn't believe it. _A suicide letter? From Naruto? The number-one hyper-active ninja of the village hidden in the leaves? This can't be right... I... I have to find Naruto! _Sasuke instantly dropped the book, he looked at the blood drops. _He must have left right after he wrote this. Those blood drops will lead me right to him!_ Sasukes tracking skills would be put to the test in this hunt, because as Sasuke followed the blood trail he noticed the distance between the blood drops increasing. But Sasuke refused to give up. _Naruto... I WILL find you. I promise!_

* * *

Authors final Rant: Well, what did you think of the first chapter. Melodrama! Shocking Discoverys. Weird Mood Swings! The Word 'Fuck!' Oh, by the way, any flames will be used on Sakura's hair.

Sakura: *bug-eyes* WHAT?

me: *wink* You heard me right folks! They will be used on Sakura's ghastly pink hair, and if we run out of her hair I will begin on the hair of the flamers! *begins a maniacal laughter while Sakura hides in a corner with Sasuke plushie, suddenly stops laughing* Wait a sec... That's MY plushie... GIVE IT BACK... *begins chasing after Sakura, demanding the return of the Sasuke plushie... and yes I DO own a Gaara and Sasuke plushie. I also own Naruto, Itachi, and a Sakura one that is strapped to a dart board* XD

(The Sakura one was a gift from a relative that knew I liked Naruto and yes, this relative does NOT know me well enough to realize I hate her. *sigh* Woe is Me... wtvr.)

(1) Obviously inspired by yours truly current predicament! (reference in Authors note's at top)

(2) Hmmmm... I wonder what he was considering doing! *wink*

(3) He sure does say 'Fuck' a lot. Obviously not a morning person.

(4) *cackles evilly* I should have totally stopped here but that might have caused many people to send me death threats. Besides, I don't like short chapters.

(5) WooHoo... GO SEXY SASUKE!


	2. Run, Sasuke, Run!

Authors Note: The first chapter was fun! This one, however, was kind of hard. I had a bunch of ideas bouncing their way through my skull during the first chapter but for this chapter the bouncing balls took a bit of a vacation. So please R&R but don't be too mean!

Acknowledgments: To all the people who reviewed for Ch.1 I thank you. THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU! hehe!

Disclaimer: NO! I DON'T OWN NARUTO, WILL YOU QUIT BUGGING ME ABOUT IT?... you didn't say anything?... Oops. Heh. Sorry 'bout that. Psycho moment, don't mind me!

"Speaking"

_Thinking_

(Author Rants XD)

* * *

**A Silent Scream**

**By XscarletXsuccubiX**

_Naruto... I WILL find you. I promise! _It was a promise Sasuke intended on keeping. He hadn't gotten very far when he noticed the blood trail on the street end. Sasuke growled in frustration and looked around for some sign of a trail. As he glanced around, he recognized Sakuras house just around the corner. Sasuke frowned. _Sakura... she discovered the note at 2 in the morning... what woke her and what led her to Narutos house? The blood, maybe? _Sasuke glanced towards Sakuras bedroom window and blinked. There... a smear of red on the window? Sasuke climbed and jumped his way to the window. On the window-sill he found a small puddle of blood that looked fresher than the trail on the road... in fact, the smear on the window almost looked like a word.

_Bye._

Sasuke blinked. _Naruto... he came here right after he left, then reopened the wound to write a final farewell. That means the wound is bleeding more giving me a trail to follow. _Sasuke smirked a little. _That dobe probably woke Sakura and was spotted when she turned to look. She went to Narutos house to confront him. Heh. Baka can't even commit suicide properly._ At the mental reminder of the suicide note, Sasuke became serious again and began looking for the newer drops. _Up there, he took to the rooftops after visiting Sakura. _Sasuke resumed his pursuit. _Hmmm... he changed directions, where is he going now?_

The next direction took even less time to reach and Sasuke was shocked to find that it led to his own bedroom window. _He came here? He was obviously more careful at my place than he was a Sakuras. _But unlike Sakuras house there was no word of final farewell, just a large puddle as if someone had sat on the windowsill for a while and bled. Sasuke frowned. _What was he doing here? There's no final farewell like at Sakuras, so what was the point in coming here? Guess I'll have to ask after I save his life. _This puddle was large, large enough that when Naruto turned to continue his rooftop run he stepped in it. Every other step Naruto took left a smear of blood. _Well, on with the hunt._

Sasuke followed blood trails all over the place. Sometimes the wound got renewed and a couple times, Sasuke even lost the trail. But he was able to discover most of the places Naruto visited. The ninja academy, Ichigaku ramen even near the observing area for Mt. Hokage. (1) The fact is, it seemed almost pointless to follow the blood trail because Naruto kept visiting the most remote locations. _Jeez, what was he doing? Sightseeing? I bet he's not even go through with it and this has all been completely pointless. _The fact is, Sasuke was starting to get pissed. He looked all over the place but still no Naruto. He had lost the original blood trail long ago and had begun a sweep of the village.

_He better be committing suicide cause if he's not I'm gonna kill him!... wait. Is that Naruto? _Sasuke had been moving through one of the forested areas and had just passed the Hero's Stone(2) and had caught a glimpse of a human figure sitting against the stone. Sasuke changed directions and headed towards the monument. _That IS Naruto, is he asleep? _As Sasuke got within speaking distance he noticed a dark stain surrounding Naruto. _More blood, did he write something... no, there is too much blood for a small wound... _

As Sasuke stepped up next to Naruto he discovered the source of the large puddle. "Oh... Gods..."

Naruto had slit his wrists. _He's dead._

CLIFFHANGER! Don't Kill me there is another chapter on the way.

Authors Final Rant: Oh My God... I was at a loss on how to write Ch. 2. So, I am sad to say... I winged it. The part I planned went all the way to the 'Bye' at Sakuras window and stopped. The Sasuke window was something that fits in with the SasuNaru but the rest was me trying to speed past the half-hour-or-so chase. So please send reviews. I need to know how I did! Please and Thank You!

(1) Sorry. I couldn't remember if they ever gave that place a name. I figure Mt. Hokage works since it IS a rip-off of Mt. Rushmore.

(2) Again, I'm sorry if the name is wrong, it's the big rock that has the names of Shinobi who died in battle like Iruka-sensei's parents.


	3. Save Me From Myself

Authors Note: Hey all! In order to recover from my shame over chapter 2, I tried to make this one long but not so long as to bore you. I hope I did well! TTFN!

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Naruto. If I did he probably wouldn't be a virgin anymore... then again, maybe he isn't a virgin in the real show. Ohhhh, the secret life of Uzumaki Naruto! *cackles manically and goes off to interrogate Naruto*

"Speaking"

_Thinking_

_"Guess who..."_

(Author Rants XD)

* * *

**A Silent Scream**

**By XscarletXsuccubiX**

_He's dead. _

It wasn't possible but there was the proof right before his eyes. Almost against his will, Sasuke began noting details. _There is a lot of blood spread out so he obviously moved into that position later, the body has probably been this way for a little while. _Sasuke couldn't bear to think of it as Naruto, the dark hid most of the young shinobis features so Sasuke was able to keep control of himself. That is until the body spoke.

"_Quit being a baka, he's not dead yet." _

Suddenly, the body lifted its head. It was Narutos face, Narutos hair, even those odd markings on his cheeks. But the eyes... they were red. Not the bright shining blue that belongs to Naruto, but a cold and angry red that sent a shiver of fear up Sasukes spine. _The...Fuck...?_(1)

The evil eyes in Narutos faced glared at him. That deep voice that sounded so much like an angry growl spoke into the darkness once more.

_"So the almighty Uchiha is the one who came for the boy first. I didn't think you would come until later... So, tell me, are you going to stand there like a fool or are you going to help the boy?"_

Sasuke blinked. "What do you mean? Who are you, you can't be Naruto!"

The creature sneered. _"Figured that out alone did you? And I was trying SO hard to act like him!"_

Sasuke frowned. "You're not Naruto. So, where is Naruto? What have you done to him?"

A look of complete seriousness crossed the creatures face. "_I have done nothing to him, Uchiha. This is his body. I am simply the demon that inhabits it. The boy went through with his suicide." _At this, he held out his right arm to reveal a long shallow cut that went from wrist to elbow. It was already partially healed.

Sasuke frowned. "That wound is much too old to be a recent suicide attempt." The creature growled in anger and frustration.

_"That is because I healed the wound! But the longer we sit here chatting, the harder it becomes to keep the boy from slipping away completely!"_

Sasuke widened his eyes. "Slipping away... what's happening to Naruto?"

_"He is pulling into himself, his self-loathing is so great he is literally willing himself to death, and while I would normally enjoy watching a pathetic human die like this, I will die right along with him if he continues. Had he not fought against me I would have healed his wounds sooner, but by the time he lost consciousness he had lost too much blood. When he slips away I will die as well, and I will not allow that. So, if you do not want your friend to be in a coma for the rest of his life you will sit before me and activate your sharingan."_

Sasuke stared at the creature- _No... that is Narutos body, he is in there dying, but... do I trust this... this demon? _Sasuke shut his eyes momentarily. _What choice do I have, if he is telling the truth and I ignore him, Naruto will disappear, if he is lying... what choice is there? I hope this isn't a mistake._ Sasuke opened his eyes and walked forward to sit cross-legged upon the blood-soaked grass. He activated his sharingan and looked into the demonic eyes of the being before him. "What do I have to do?"

As soon as Sasuke sat down chakra began to bubble up around the creature, Sasuke noticed with a bit of shock that like Narutos eyes, the chakra had changed from blue to red. _"What do you know about your sharingan?" _

Sasuke frowned. "It is a type of bloodline ability that is only possessed by those of my clan. I have the first stage, the ability to 'see' my enemies' movements before they happen."

The demon(2) smirked slightly. "_You're correct, but it is so much more than sight. You literally tap into the surface thoughts of your enemy and as their mind makes the decision there is that moment while you watch their mind map out their next move."_

Sasuke blinked. _Tap into their mind? How does he know all this? _"How do yo-"

_"I know because you are not the first Uchiha I have faced, but that is for another time. I need you to use your sharingan on the boy and when you connect I will use my chakra and my connection to him to draw you deeper into his mind. Prepare yourself, Uchiha. This will be... unpleasant." _The large grin that spread across Narutos face revealed the demons enjoyment over the 'unpleasant' occurrence. The fact that the grin revealed the large canines now within Narutos mouth did nothing to ease Sasukes nerves. _Best get this over with... _

Sasuke focused his eyes on the ones before him, after a moment a large amount of pressure slammed into his mind, constricting and twisting as if it was trying to crush his skull and shove his brain out through his ears. At any moment Sasuke expected his head to explode as the agonizing moments slowly trickled by. Then almost as soon as it started, it stopped, and Sasuke was thrown into complete darkness. _"You're on your own now, Uchiha..."_

_On my own, huh? _Sasuke looked all around him but he could find nothing but blackness. He couldn't even see his own hand when he held it in front of his face, yet as he moved it was like he was moving through thick mud, he couldn't feel anything against his flesh but there was a steady resistance against movement. _What now..._

Sasuke sighed, picked a random direction and began to move forward. "Naruto... Naruto, can you hear me?... NARUTO?" Sasuke walked for what felt like miles, yelling Narutos name until his throat grew hoarse and his limbs felt heavy with fatigue, yet he kept moving forward. Kept yelling. Sasuke was starting to wonder if this really was a trap. Maybe that demon lied in order to trap him there. Sasuke began to panic slightly. _Dammit, stop being a baka and calm down, panicking isn't going to help Naruto, is it? _Sasuke stopped to look around. Nothing. No light, no sound, absolutely nothing. Sasuke shut his eyes for a moment as a wave of despair washed over him. _Where are you Naruto?... wait... what is that?_(3) Somewhere ahead of Sasuke there seemed to be a glimmer of light. He began to walk quickly, the fatigue receding from his limbs. There... that little bit of light revealed... a tree. A tree at the edge of a playground. Sasuke noticed the playground looked a lot like the one at the ninja academy. _Wha... _

Sasuke was nearly to the tree when he noticed that the blackness was receding. When Sasuke looked around he noted that he really was at the ninja academy only... there seemed to be a slight fog over everything(4), the colors were grayish and there wasn't much sound except for a weird whimpering sound... _What is that? _Sasuke looked for the source of the sound only to catch a glimpse of yellow from the other side of the tree.

"Naruto..."

The sound instantly stopped, when Sasuke walked around the tree he discovered Naruto, except it wasn't Naruto. Not today's Naruto anyways, this one was much younger, little more than a kid, a kid with puffy bloodshot eyes and tears streaming down his face leaving a trail through the dirt that covered him. He was bruised and his clothes were torn a little, he looked like he had been in a fight.

"Are you alright?"

The younger Naruto looked somewhat startled and very suspicious at the question. "I'm fine, who're you?"

Sasuke looked at him curiously. "You don't recognize me?"

The young blond shakes his head quickly. "No, you look like ya might be related to that Uchiha kid, but all his family died so you can't be related to him."

Sasuke frowned. "Naruto... I AM Sasuke, it's me... the two of us have been on the same team for a while now. Kakashi-sensei is training us, remember?"

Naruto frowned. "Are you crazy? I'm not on a team. Yer not Sasuke either, he's a lot smaller than you, and who is Kakashi?"

Sasuke felt a slight headache beginning to form as he looked at Naruto. _This is a younger version of him, so he has no memories of the last few years. What was it the demon said? Something about Narutos self-loathing being so great it's killing him? Hmmm..._

"You know what, Naruto? Never mind. Forget I mentioned it. Instead, what happened to you? Who did you piss off?"

Naruto gave Sasuke an odd look before launching into a wonderful and horrible tale about how he was trying to help the children and pay proper respect to the hokage when evil ninja-wannabes appeared to cause destruction and ruin his good name. A tale where each and every word was a gigantic lie. _Defending the hokages honor, my ass._

Before Narutos story could get bigger Sasuke cut him off. "Yeah, yeah, sure. But why aren't you over with Iruka-sensei getting patched up?"

Another frown. "Iruka-sensei?"

Sasukes eyebrow shot up with shock and surprise. _He forgot Iruka as well? He's known Iruka forever though. _"Huh, never mind then. Come on, let's get you bandaged up."

The younger Naruto scowled and crossed his arms. "I'm not a baby. Stop acting like yer the boss of me and leave me alone. Baka tare."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow and looked at the child version of Naruto in amusement. "Right." Sasuke realized he was starting to lose track of his goal. _That's right, Naruto attempted suicide. I'm in Narutos mind. _"Listen, Naruto, I have a question for you."

Naruto stood up and looked at Sasuke suspiciously. "Alright, what's yer question?"

Sasuke took a deep breath. "Why would you want to kill yourself?"

Narutos eyes widened. "Kill myself, why would I-"

Sasuke cut him off. "That's my question. What would have to occur in your life that would make you want to die?"

Naruto frowned in thought, eyes looking at the ground. "I dunno, everyone dying maybe... I know the whole village doesn't like me for some reason, but I know I can make them accept me if I become the hokage! Sometimes their hate makes me feel really sad..." Through this entire answer Naruto was slowly becoming taller, older, his clothes changed and his wounds healed. He began to look like the Naruto Sasuke knows except he still didn't have his leaf headband. "I guess if someone I trusted were to betray me, then I would feel bad. I may not know why the village hates me, but there are some who don't. If I learned that was a lie... that they really did hate me for something I can't control, that would hurt... " Suddenly, the goggles on Narutos head faded out to be replaced by his leaf shinobi headband. Naruto looked up so his eyes met Sasukes and Sasuke saw the deep despair and anguish within those eyes. "I suppose if someone comes to trust me and I were to let them down, I would feel horrible. If some I care about were to almost die because of me... then I would hate myself. At that point, I might even wish for death."

Sasuke couldn't stand the anguish in those blue orbs and averted his eyes. "Naruto..."

"Sasuke..." Sasuke looked back at Naruto, he was smiling sadly. "Sasuke... I'm so sorry, it's my fault that happened to you. I wish you hadn't followed me in here."

"You remember now." Naruto nodded. "So... why?"

Naruto laughed bitterly. "That question is a weapon you don't want to set off." Sasuke frowned.

"I still want to know, Naruto."

Naruto sighed. "When we were fighting Haku, you got in the way of those needles. I know he didn't kill you, but I guess I realized how useless I really was. If... if he'd had a colder heart, you would be dead now, and I... well, it would be my fault wouldn't it. I'm just a liability. I'm weak so no matter how hard I try I will never be able to protect my loved ones. I just feel so useless."

"Dobe." Naruto looked at Sasuke, startled. "Of course you're not strong enough. There's a reason they called you 'Dead-last', you're the weakest one in the team and just barely graduated from the academy. You're not useless though. After all, those builders are naming that bridge after you, you obviously made some difference to them. What about that snotty kid you got pissed at because he was whinny. You made a difference in his life. Your slow, your dim, and your weak. But you're defiantly NOT useless."

Naruto frowned. "I... I don't understand Sasuke, you're telling me I'm right because I'm weak but I'm wrong because a few people listened to me?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "They didn't just listen to you Dobe. That kid heard your words, he saw you protect his family, you gave him enough of a backbone to grab a weapon and confront the adults and in true Uzumaki style he called them a bunch of cowards, made them feel ashamed and they turned around and gained courage from it. They only came because of what you did to that kid. You gave him a spine that was big enough to share and started some kind of town revolt. You are weak, make no mistake and while you are a screw-up you train hard. That last mission just means you need to train harder."

Naruto stared at Sasuke for a few moments. "I... I guess I never really thought about that stuff. And I DO need to train harder especially if I'm gonna beat you teme.." Sasuke smirked slightly. "But still, I-"

Sasuke cut him off. "There's no but in this Naruto, there are only the facts. You currently suck as a ninja. You are slow when it comes to learning new stuff and it takes you forever to master it. There is one thing that you have though. You. You have a lot of willpower, and before this stupid stunt I didn't think you gave up on anything. You have a lot of courage Naruto, and you have a good heart. You may not have the brains but Kakashi will probably be able to beat some smarts in.(5)"

Naruto was trembling slightly by the time Sasuke finished talking. When Sasuke looked at Naruto he was shocked to see tears in the eyes of the young blonde. "Naruto..."

Naruto roughly wiped the tears off his face and gave Sasuke a small smile. "Teme... who do you think you're talking to? I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I'm gonna be the next Hokage of the Village hidden in the Leaves, of course I'm awesome!"

Sasuke just rolled his eyes but inside he was relieved. _Naruto is starting to sound like himself again. Good. _Just as Sasuke opened his mouth to talk, he felt a sudden wrenching in the pit of his stomach and his head. "Wha...?"

Naruto smiled sadly. "It's time for you to go Sasuke..."

The feeling came again only harder.

"... you said what you came to say, and I DO hear you... "

The next one left Sasuke kneeling on the floor gasping, his surrounding slowly began to fade around him. "Naru... to..."

"... but I know the village will never accept me... "

Everything had faded to black and only Naruto was left standing before Sasuke.

"... a monster can never become hokage... "

As the next wrenching feeling happened even Naruto began to fade.

"... I guess all you and I can do is hope... "

The next feeling was so painful Sasuke began to black out.

"... hope that neither of us live to regret this."

Sasuke collapsed forward and darkness descended upon him, but right before he lost sight of Naruto he heard him whisper one word.

"Daisuki."(6)

Sasuke was surrounded by darkness once again, the word he heard Naruto whisper repeating itself over and over in his mind, but the pain going through his body was so great it prevented him from concentrating on the words meaning. Sasuke felt as if someone was carving up his insides only to turn around and begin to burn him from the inside out. Sasuke tried to scream but no sound emerged and he was left to burn in darkness when he began to see odd and distorted image flashing by. They moved by so quickly his pain-fogged mind couldn't concentrate on them. The roaring in his ears wasn't helping any. _Wait... that sound... _Sasuke attempted to concentrate on the sound only to realize they were words. A voice that sounded vaguely familiar was talking to him.

"Come on Sasuke, it's time to get out of Narutos head now. You did enough. Naruto is going to be fine."

_He's fine... thank god._

As relief flooded him the pain began to recede to a dull throb at the back of his skull.

"Wake up, it's time to open your eyes. You need to tell us what happened."

_Wha... _Sasuke frowned slightly and tried to look past the darkness only to realize he was lying on his back, plus it seemed at some point he had shut his eyes. Sasuke opened one of his eyes a bit only to be nearly blinded by the light that shined directly into his eyes.

"Oops, hold on, it's a bit sunny here."

Sasuke was seeing stars floating in his eyes, they were darting around like little fireflies.

"Okay, try opening your eyes now."

Sasuke slowly obeyed. There was still light but it wasn't as blinding. The first thing Sasuke noticed was that someone had taken a blanket and secured it to a couple branches, probably to create shade from the sun. Next thing he knew his vision was being obscured by a large head with gravity-defying silver hair(6), and a face that was half-covered by a mask and a leaf ninja headband.

"Ka- Kakashi-sensei?"

The single visible eye smiled down at him, "Welcome back, Sasuke. Saskura has been worried sick about you."

"What happened?"

Kakaski chuckled slightly. "That's my question, when Sakura informed me of what happened, I tracked you here only to find you lying in front of Naruto, unconscious. We thought the worst had happened."

Sasukes eyes widen suddenly and he tried to hastily sit up. "Naruto! He-" Kakashi pushed Sasuke back down and interrupted him.

"Calm down, Sasuke. Naruto is going to be just fine. The medical nins are looking after him, he's on his way to the hospital now. You're going to follow him soon enough." Sasuke sighed in relief and allowed himself to be pushed back onto the pallet he was laying on.

"Now, I think it's time you told me what happened."

Sasuke nodded once and began to tell Kakashi what had happened.

"I was asleep when I heard someone banging on my door... "

Two days later.

"Alright, Mr. Uchiha your set to go!" Sasuke nodded mutely to the nurse. He had only been in the hospital for two days but it felt like two weeks. Kakashi had stopped by to inform Sasuke that Naruto was still unconscious a few hours before but Sasuke intended to verify that for himself.

Sasuke walked down the corridor until he came to Room 9. He slid the door open and stepped in to find Naruto seemingly sleeping peacefully. It was obvious he wasn't sleeping though, his limbs were lying neatly at his sides and his body was lined up straight on the bed. Kakashi had taken them training to different areas where they ended up sleeping outside, so Sasuke knew that when Naruto was really sleeping his limbs were thrown all over the place and he was usually sleeping sideways on the bed. _Naruto... _

It had been nearly three days since Narutos suicide attempt, and while Naruto was alive the doctors were afraid he wasn't going to wake up. _Was I too late? I thought maybe Naruto was going to wake up and be his normal self by now. What went wrong? _Sasuke looked down at Naruto.

"You have to wake up Naruto. I need to talk to you. You said... back then, you said something right before I left. You said Daisuki. I need to know if you meant it. You say you like me but how can I know if you mean it when you won't even wake up to talk to me. Please Naruto, I need you to wake up and help me understand."

Every day for that week Sasuke would return to the hospital and sit by Narutos bed and ask him to wake up. Every day, Sasuke would leave with no reply.

At beginning of the next week, Naruto woke up. A nurse had walked in to find him sitting up and looking out the window, she immediately called for the doctor but before she could do anything else Naruto turned to her and said clearly, "I need to see Kakashi-sensei, I don't want to see anyone else. Especially not Sasuke Uchiha." Naruto refused to speak anymore until he had talked with Kakashi, and even after that everything he said was short and clipped. Sasuke was forced to rely on the reports the nurse's and Kakashi gave him, when four days after Naruto awoke he told a nurse that he was ready to see visitors.

When Sasuke walked into room 9 Naruto was standing by the window looking outside, he didn't respond to the sound of the door opening and closing. Sasuke stood just inside the door for a few moments in tense silence. finally, he couldn't take it anymore and he stepped forward.

"Naruto, I-"

"I'm sorry, Sasuke." Naruto finally turned toward Sasuke and gave him a small smile. Naruto went over to a sofa and sat down, he motioned for Sasuke to take a seat and Sasuke complied. "I haven't made this very easy on you, have I?" Sasuke shook his head mutely. "Sorry about that. I needed some time to know, get my thoughts organized... was that really you? In my head, I mean." Another nod. "Kakashi-sensei explained that it wasn't a dream but it seemed so hard to believe. Shows you what I know... that stuff you said about me. Was it true?" A nod. Naruto sighed and gave Sasuke another smile. "I see. I guess this means you remember what I said as well?" Sasuke nodded again and Naruto gave a small laugh. "Of course you would." Tense silence filled the room until Sasuke broke it.

"Was it the truth?... the last thing you said to me, was it real?" It was Narutos turn to nod. "I see."

"I wasn't lying. I do like you Sasuke, more than I realized until recently. I'm still not sure how strong my feelings are, but they're there."

Sasuke looked at Naruto for a moment. "I'm not sure how to react. I have been thinking about that this entire time but I still don't know how to respond. I do know that I'm not going to let you die on me. You're... important to me. I know that. The rest... the rest we can work out late. But for now, just don't try to leave us again, okay?"

Naruto pulled his knees up to his chest and layed his head on his knees barely hiding a small smile. "Alright Sasuke, I'm not going anywhere. We can figure each other out as slowly as you like! I promise you, I won't die." Sasuke nodded and stood up to leave. "Wait... "Sasuke turned to look at Naruto."Can you do me a real quick favor though? It's not a big thing, but I would appreciate it just this once." Sasuke looked at Naruto curiously before giving him a cautious nod. "Kiss me, just this once." Sasuke looked at Naruto for a moment before coming to stand before him. They looked each other in the eyes for a few moments before Sasuke gave a slight nod and bent forward. Sasuke leaned forward and softly placed his lips upon Narutos. As their lips caressed each other Narutos eyes fluttered shut and he breathed in Sasukes breath. When Sasuke finally straightened Narutos eyes remained shut. There was a look of pure bliss on his face. Sasuke turned and walked to the door, as he slid it open he heard a soft voice behind him.

"Thank you."

Sasuke nodded once before stepping through the door and closing it behind him. He leaned back against the door letting his head fall forward. A small smile appeared on his face as he reached up a hand to touch his lips.

"Daisuki, Naruto!"

**THE END!**

* * *

Authors Final Rant: IT'S FINALLY OVER! YAY! I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter up but I have been so busy at work for the past two weeks that by the time I got home, I was exhausted so I didn't get any work done at all. Gomen! Anyways, I hope you all liked the last chapter of my story, 'A Silent Scream!' I expect each and every one of you to R&R! If you don't I will be very sad and I won't be motivated enough to work on my next story. So review if you want some more Naruto goodness! Oh and flames are still being used on Sakuras hair, she still has some left! DATEBAYO!

(1) I tried to copy Kyubbi as much as possible. This is as close as I could get without ruining the plot. Plus Sasuke got to say 'fuck' again! Heehee!

(2) Yes, yes, we all know it's Kyuubi, but this is Sasukes POV. He doesn't HAVE a name for him.

(3) Yes, I know this is going to be a cliché but I got the idea for this scene from 'Howls Moving Castle' so sue them for giving me this idea!

(4) I read somewhere that our minds see things differently from how they actually look. A loved one who looks plain and boring to a stranger could look beautiful to your eyes. Our long-term memories tend to be fuzzy as well. It's one of the reasons you can get different descriptions of the same person or place.

(5) A brain, a heart, courage! I sound like a wizard of Oz endorser!

(6) Daisuke is one way to say "I Love You"

(7) Sorry, I always thought his hair looked kinda like Hiei's from Yu Yu Hakusho! YAY Gravity-defying HAIR!


	4. Guess What!

**AUTHORS INSTANT MESSAGE:**

Guess What? I'm writing an Epilougue! YAY! You may all bow to me now!

J/K but seriously, I am in the process of writing another chapter.

A lot of people wanted to see Sasuke help Naruto work through his emo-ness.

(Sasuke would know all about that, ne? ;D)

So I figured, "What the Fug, I might as well!"

So I am, but for those of you who enjoyed the ending so far and liked how it ended I would suggest stopping here, because I never planned this and am kinda wingin it.

Forgive me if it sucks please!

So stick around for the next installment of:

**Silent Scream**

**0.o**


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